Rape charge takes new turn

Sunni official reports strong evidence

Sunni official reports strong evidence

BAGHDAD, Iraq - A Sunni Muslim woman's allegations that she was raped by three members of Iraq's Shiite-dominated police force took a startling turn Friday when a Sunni human rights official said that a government committee has uncovered strong evidence to support her claims. The official, Omar al-Jabouri, said one of the woman's alleged attackers and an accomplice have been in custody since Wednesday and that a four-member special investigative panel has continued to investigate the case despite Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's public statements that the woman lied. The panel investigating the rape allegation is led by the head of the Interior Ministry's intelligence service, Gen. Hussein Kamal. Al-Jabouri is an observer to the panel on behalf of Iraqi Vice President Tariq al-Hashemi, a Sunni. The investigation is complicated because the woman has been charged with supporting the Sunni insurgency, al-Jabouri said. The woman said the police officers had taken her from her home on Sunday while her husband was away, raped her at the police station and released her only when American soldiers showed up. Al-Maliki quickly announced an investigation, then four hours later denounced the woman and praised the officers. On Wednesday, his office released a portion of a medical examination that Iraqi officials said proved there had been no rape. U.S. rape experts, however, said it showed injuries consistent with sexual assault. American officials have said little about the case, other than to acknowledge that the woman was treated at an American-run hospital. Sunni politicians said the quick rejection by al-Maliki, a Shiite, of the woman's allegations prove that his government is unwilling to protect Sunnis from abuse at the hands of Iraq's Shiite-dominated security forces. Fueling those flames was a report Thursday that another Sunni woman had been raped by Iraqi soldiers in the northern city of Tal Afar. In that case, an Iraqi army officer and three enlisted men confessed. On Friday, an al-Qaida Web site posted a message from Abu Hamza al-Muhajir, al-Qaida's leader in Iraq, saying that 300 Iraqis had volunteered to become suicide bombers to avenge the 20-year-old's honor. Special correspondent Qassim Zein in Najaf contributed to this report.